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The move to accessing applications from the cloud and provisioning resources dynamically has led to organizations moving to a zero trust strategy to guard against attacks and data leaks. However, this can be hard to achieve with hybrid environments.

Secure access specialist Pulse Secure is adding Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) architecture to its platform to extends its foundation of Zero Trust access for hybrid IT.

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Microsoft has announced that from the middle of July, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 users who want to continue to receive updates will need SHA-2 code signing support.

The change is being introduced because "the security of the SHA-1 hash algorithm has become less secure over time due to weaknesses found in the algorithm, increased processor performance, and the advent of cloud computing".

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The Timeline feature of Windows 10 makes it easier to work on multiple computers by synchronizing activity so you can move between machines and pick up from where you left off -- although it can also prove useful on a single computer. Having made this available in its Edge browser, Microsoft has now released an extension that brings it to Google Chrome.

This move is understandable as Chrome has a much larger userbase than Edge, and Microsoft admits that it is a much-requested feature.

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The founder of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, has hit back against Trump's ban on the use of his company's hardware because of concerns about Chinese espionage, saying "there's no way the US can crush us". The US has been trying to encourage other countries to follow its lead in shunning Huawei, but the UK has said it will not stop the company -- which is due to launch its P30 range of smartphones next month -- from getting involved in the rollout of 5G networks.

Ren also lashed out at the US, saying that the arrest of his daughter and Huawei CFO, Meng Wanzhou, was politically motivated.

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Australia's three main political parties -- Liberals, Labor and Nationals -- as well as the country's parliament have all been hit by a security breach which Prime Minister Scott Morrison says was carried out by a "sophisticated state actor".

Although the country is due to hold elections in the coming months, Morrison says there is "no evidence of any electoral interference". While it is not currently known who is responsible for the attack, various potential culprits have been suggested, including China, the US, Israel and Russia.

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Within any given country, while you might have a choice of different internet providers, the speeds they offer and the prices they charge tend to be broadly similar.

UK-based comparison site Compare the Market has done some interesting research looking at the costs and speeds of broadband around the world. So prepare to be made jealous, or smug, depending on where you live.

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Apple's iPad remains the best tablet on the market. Many companies have tried to compete, but all have largely failed. Sure, there are some decent Android models on the market -- from a hardware perspective -- but the underlying operating system cannot compare to the excellent iOS. There are countless Android tablets that get abandoned by manufacturers, getting stuck on outdated OS versions chock full of exploits -- which means they simply aren't safe.

If you buy an iPad, you can be confident that Apple will support it for many years, making it a very wise investment. Regardless of which model iPad you choose, it is smart to protect it with a case. If you opted for one of the non-pro 9.7-inch iPad tablets (2017 or 2018), for instance, Urban Armor Gear has a new case that will safeguard the device with military grade protection while also being fashionable. Since the rear is translucent, you can still see Apple's design -- an important thing to some consumers. It even has a loop holder for an Apple Pencil or other stylus.

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A detailed report about fake news by a parliamentary committee in the UK has accused Facebook of being a "digital gangster" that has deliberately broken privacy and competition laws. The report by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee calls for the social network to be subject to statutory regulation.

The report comes after an 18-month investigation, and it is damning of Facebook and its executives in general, and Mark Zuckerberg in particular. Criticism is levelled at the lack of action taken against fake news and misinformation on the social network, and there is concern that current election laws were not enough to prevent sites such as Facebook being used by hostile foreign agents to interfere with the democratic process.

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In recent years it seems that there has been an astonishing increase in the number of Flat Earthers -- people who believe that the Earth is flat, and anything that suggests otherwise is a conspiracy. The thinking is that, for some reason, NASA, international government, scientists and so on are all desperate to convince people that the Earth is round when it is in fact flat.

While Flat Earther numbers are still relatively small, the increasing membership of this school of thought in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary is both confusing and worrying. So just what is going on? The rise in internet usage has been blamed for the spread of fake news, conspiracy theories and all manner of bizarre ideas, and a new study has concluded that one particular site is responsible for the increasing support for the Flat Earth theory. That site is YouTube.

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While most CIOs have now identified the benefits cloud can have for their business, concerns over becoming locked in with a single vendor can still be a major barrier to rolling out projects.

We spoke to Richard Best, general manager at COMPAREX UK, to find out why this is the case and what companies can do to avoid vendor lock in.

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With concerns about Chinese spying, the US has been embarked on a campaign to prevent Huawei from operating in the country. In addition to banning officials from spending money on Huawei equipment, the US government has been trying to convince other countries to follow its lead and shun the company.

Despite US pressure -- and similar moves by New Zealand and Australia -- the UK says that it has no plans to cut Huawei technology out of 5G networks. The National Cyber Security Centre says that there are ways to mitigate against any potential risk posed by Huawei equipment.

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When you delete a direct message on Twitter, it is gone forever, right? From a user's point of view, this is true -- a deleted message vanishes. But a security researcher has discovered that Twitter is actually hanging onto these messages.

Karan Saini found that he was able to see messages he deleted years ago when he downloaded an archive of his Twitter data from the site.

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When hackers hit Marriott's Starwood Hotel database last year, it was first thought that half a billion customers might be affected. This estimate was later downgraded to 383 million guests, but this is still a very large number, and it is understandable that many people are concerned that their data may have been accessed.

There was particular concern about whether passport numbers had been accessed, and this is what a new checking tool lets you check. Marriott has teamed up with security firm OneTrust to enable customers to check if their data was included in the security breach.

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The marriage between Linux and Windows is getting stronger. Having embraced Linux with WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), Microsoft is now doing what users have been begging for: Windows 10 April 2019 Update makes it possible to access Linux files from Windows.

As well as enabling you to open Linux files from within Explorer, Windows 10 version 1903 gives you the option of editing Linux files from Windows.

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Protecting your online privacy is important. There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about how to stay safe online, and an increasing number of people are turning to Virtual Private Networks to keep their browsing data hidden from advertisers and overzealous intelligence agencies.

However, your privacy could still be at risk even behind the protection of a VPN. There are three common vulnerabilities that can leak information about you online: WebRTC and DNS leaks which affect VPN users, and app data leaks which can affect anyone and everyone. Read on to find out more about these three types of data leak, and what steps you can take to prevent them.

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